Na jugu Tunisa, nedaleko od grada Gabesa u planinskoj pustinji nalazi se selo Matmata. Ovo tajanstveno mesto sakrilo se pod zemljom pre mnogo vekova.
At the south of Tunisia not far away from town Gabes in the mountain desert there is a village Matmata. This mysterious place hid under ground many centuries ago.
Berberi, prvobitno lokalno stanovništvo koje tu živi i danas, osmislilo je način kako da se zaštiti od vrućine, hladnoće I neprijatelja koji su harali tim prostorima. Svoje kuće sagradili su pod zemljom. U zemlji bi iskopali rupu 5 do 10 m dubine I isto tolike širine. Ta kružna površina od desetak metara prečnika na dnu rupe predstavljala je dvorište iz koga se ulazi u male bočno iskopane pećine koje su zapravo prostorije kuće.
Berbers, ancient local inhabitants who live there even today, found out the way how to protect themselves from heat, cold and enemies who were devastating that territory. They built their houses under the ground. They would dig a hole 5 to 10m deep and about that size wide. That circle area of 10m diameter at the bottom was a yard from where small caves were dug in walls. Those small caves were rooms of the house.
Svaka pećina ima namenu. Jedna je kuhinja, druga je kupatilo a ostale su sobe za spavanje. Ako leti posetite ovakav berberski dom primetićete da u prostorijama vlada optimalna mikro klima u poređenju sa pustinjskom vrelinom u dvorištu.
Each cave had a purpose. One was a kitchen, another was a bathroom and others were bedrooms. If you visit this Berber home during summer time you will notice that rooms have optimal micro climate comparing to desert heat in the yard.
Kuća je povezana sa spoljašnjim svetom jednim jedinim uzanim hodnikom čiji ulaz stoji vešto sakriven I uklopljen u pejzaž. Ljubazni domaćini poslužiće vas maslinovim uljem, tabunom (domaći pita hleb) I medom koje prave sami. Kao osveženje dobićete tradicionalni jako zaslađen čaj od nane. Budući da porodice koje još žive u ovoj oblasti uglavnom žive od turizma bilo bi dobro da ukućanima ostavite bakšiš ili da kupite neki od ručnih radova. Ovo trogloditsko naselje jedinstveno je iako podzemnih naseobina ima na nekoliko lokaliteta u svetu.
The house is connected to the external world with only one narrow corridor. The entrance to the corridor is skillfully hidden and blended into landscape. Kind hosts will treat you with home- made olive oil, tabouna (traditional oven baked bread) and honey. To refresh from heat you`ll be offered traditional very sweet mint tea. Since families who still live in this area live mostly on money that tourists spend it would be nice to leave some tips or to buy one of handicrafts made at the house. This troglodyte colony is unique even though there are several ancient underground settlements worldwide.
Pejzaž Matmate liči na površinu nenaseljene planete ili Meseca pa je kao takav poslužio za snimanje čuvenog filmskog serijala “Ratovi zvezda”. Mnoge kuće pretvorene su za potrebe turizma u restorane I hotele. U nekim od ovakvih hotela spavaćete doslovce u onižoj pećini na improvizovanom madracu koji se nalazi na zemlji. Berberi su izrazito lep I ponosan narod koji je tokom više hiljda godina skoro iščezao usled mešanja sa raznim osvajačima koji su boravili na tlu današnjeg Tunisa. Ako ikad poželite da osetite makar mali deo života ovog starog naroda I da na trenutak budete lepi stasiti Berber ili lepa mistična Berberka, provedite jednu noć u nekoj od kuća Matmate!
Landscape of Matmata region looks like a surface of an uninhabited planet or the Moon so it served as a spot where filming of famous film series “Star Wars” took place. In order to develop tourism many of these houses were converted into restaurants and hotels. In some of those hotels you will literally sleep in a low cave on an improvised mattress placed on the ground. Berbers are extremely beautiful and proud people who are after several thousand years nearly disappeared due to mixing with various invaders that were staying at the territory of today`s Tunisia. If you ever wish to sense just a bit of life of this ancient people, if you ever wish to be for a moment beautiful Berber or a mysterious Berber woman come and spend the night in Matmata house!
